What does Trump’s 25% tariff on foreign cars mean for you?

it means American consumers will pay more for their cars.

Right now America doesn’t have the manufacturing infrastructure to build everything. And I don’t think they ever will. Even if the assembly is done in America, can you guarantee all the parts necessary to build that car will be from America? No. So no matter what, manufacturers will have to pay that tariff and likely pass it on to consumers. Resulting in higher prices for Americans.

Now, you may say oh tariffs only affects new cars that are sold. Nope. It indirectly affects used cars too. When Americans find the cost of a new car too much, they will increasingly look towards purchasing a used car. The demand for used cars goes up, so you will have to pay more for used cars too. We saw this during COVID actually, the prices of used cars going up.

So no matter what, you as an American consumer are going to pay more for cars. And if you don’t and decide to stick with your old car and not buy any car at all, well that’s still a loss for the American economy. Consumption is 70% of GDP. If Americans stop buying cars because they are too expensive then the economy takes a hit. If Americans do keep buying cars, then they take a hit to their wallets and spend less on other things. It’s a lose-lose situation fucked if you do fucked if you don’t.

This is why tariffs are almost universally considered a self defeating and plain bad idea for everyone with little to no benefits.